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my baby is 4 days old and...HELLLLPPPPP

Hi everyone,
I have a 4 day old DS and we are struggling to breastfeed....He was delievered via c-section and weighed 8lbs 5oz. I was able to get him latched on WITH CLICKING for the first 1 and 1/2 days (and he would nurse for 20 minutes sometiems) then all of a sudden he would not latch on. The LC told us to keep trying to get him latched and to start pumping to up my supply and to syringe feed. So now we are at day 4 and my milk is in full force. My breasts hurt and my nipples are super sore. Issues now are this...
1. DS will only latch on for 5 minutes or so at a time. He is very sleepy. I've tried stripping him, skin to skin, changing diaper, wet cloth on forehead, you name it I have tried it.

2. When he does latch on he is satisfied for hours it seems AND my breasts are only a little softer and a little less painful...I am afraid he is not getting hindmilk and am afraid I will have supply issues if he doesn't empty the breast completly.

3. As of today he has had 3 wet/poopy diapers.

4. His weight is now 7lbs 9oz (roughly)

I am nursing when he shows signs (which is hard to tell cause all he does is sleep), but should I give him the EBM by syringe after every nursing, if so how much and how often should I pump?

Sorry it is sooooo long my brain is kind of mushy due to lack of sleep and everything else....
Also my DH is pushing me to syringe feed more than BF cause he is afraid he is not getting enough to eat!

Re: my baby is 4 days old and...HELLLLPPPPP

They say (kellymom.com) you should nurse at least get 8 nursing or pumping sessions in 24hrs. if after you nurse and u feel like ur breast didnt get soft then pump after for about 10min thats what i did, and if its just a little dont panic as long as u feel the diffrence and they get softer.

now on ur little sleepy baby i had trouble with my lo i would have to change her in middle of a feeding just to wake her the cold wipe would wake her but heres this link i hope it helps:

Look for signs that he is entering a ‘light sleep cycle’. Babies cycle in and out of light and deep sleep more frequently than adults, and your efforts to wake him will be more successful if you catch him during the light sleep stage. Signs of light sleep include: rapid eye movements (REM) even though his eyes are closed; changes in facial expression; involuntary movements of arms, legs, or mouth (sucking motions). You may be unsuccessful at waking him during a deep sleep cycle, but have good results just a few minutes later if you catch him during a light sleep cycle.

-Loosen or remove his coverings. Undress him down to his diaper, and get some skin-to-skin contact. Try taking a warm bath with him.

-Dim the lights in the room. Newborn’s eyes are sensitive to light, and bright lights may make him want to keep his eyes closed.

-Talk to him and try to make eye contact.

-Hold him upright. Try the ‘doll’s eye’ technique. Remember the dolls we had as little girls who closed their eyes when you laid them down, and opened them when you sat them up? Gently bend him into sit-ups in your lap by raising his shoulders, legs, and torso, then lowering him back down. Don’t raise his legs up when he’s sitting, though – this could cause internal damage. Be gentle…

-Increase stimulation. Rub his back in a circular motion from the shoulder blades down and back up; stroke his scalp in gentle but firm circles, squeeze gently in the cavity between his neck and collarbone (remember in grade school when someone wanted to get your attention, and they snuck up from behind and grabbed your shoulder-blade? Remember how you jumped out of your chair? This is effective, but do it gently); rub his hands or feet by applying pressure with your thumb (your partner can do this while you are nursing to help keep him stimulated); walk your fingers up his spine; move his arms and legs in a bicycling motion, play pat-a-cake; or circle his lips with your fingertip. Keep talking to him and trying to establish eye contact.

-Change his diaper and burp him before offering the other breast. Most newborns hate this, and it may make him mad enough to wake up and nurse. Try switching breasts as soon as his sucking slows down, even if it has only been a few minutes. Then go back to the other breast and let him fall asleep on that side if he wants to.

-Wipe his face with a cool, damp cloth.

-Try nursing in the football hold rather than the cradle hold. Babies cuddled in the cradle hold tend to fall asleep more readily.

-Support your breast while nursing so the weight of it isn’t on the baby’s chin.

-Express milk onto his lips or dribble milk into his mouth with a dropper or syringe to keep him swallowing while feeding.

If you have a sleepy baby, remember that the most important thing is making sure that he gets enough to eat. Monitor his urine and stool output and his weight gain closely, especially during the first couple of weeks. If he is not gaining weight adequately, consult a lactation professional for advice on how to increase his weight gain. (see article on “How to tell if Your Breastfed Baby is Getting Enough to Eat” and “Increasing Your Milk Supply” for more details).

Re: my baby is 4 days old and...HELLLLPPPPP

3-4 diaper changes today. My c section was with a spinal block. I nursed him at 5:31 and he went for 12 minutes I am sooooo excited but I know 2 steps forward and 10 steps back is how it seems to work.

Re: my baby is 4 days old and...HELLLLPPPPP

Originally Posted by MoMmY316

if after you nurse and u feel like your breast didn't get soft then pump after for about 10min thats what i did, and if its just a little dont panic as long as u feel the difference and they get softer.

I just want to gently add here that at 4 days pp your milk normally comes flooding in, pumping during this time needs to be very very minimal. In fact I would hesitate to encourage this at all because of a few things. The first being that when you are engorged and your body is going from endocrine (hormone driven) to autocrine (local) milk production pumping sends the messege to really produce more milk. So if you are new to the information of pumping and what it tells your body, you might tend to overdo it.

You had a ton of great advice.

To the original poster:
When you say your breasts hurt, can you explain that a little more? Where does it hurt? Breasts feel swollen or hard? If so, here are some additional things to think about. When you are engorged applying heat may increase the swelling in the breast, try some cool packs in between nursing.

Why are you worried about hindmilk? Are your poops a good mustardy yellowy color? Yes? Then stop worrying about it.

Clicking can be a way of baby slowing the milk flow down. This means you may have an over active letdown reflex, which might explain why baby seems like it is getting enough milk for a while after nursing. Its like chug-a-lugging when you have OALD.

If you are concerned with empting your breasts try breast compressions during active sucking.